


When I Kissed the Teacher.

by infinitestarsintheskye



Series: Steggy Week 2019 [4]
Category: Agent Carter - Fandom, Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, This is adorable though I say so myself, parent/teacher AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-07-07 22:50:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19859308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinitestarsintheskye/pseuds/infinitestarsintheskye
Summary: Written for steggyfanevents Steggy Week 2019, for the prompt: AUs and crossovers. This is a classic Parent/Teacher Fall in Love AU. When Peggy goes to drop off her daughter for her very first day of school she hears a rumor going round the playground that the new Kindergarten teacher is extremely cute, and she is not disappointed.





	1. A God In the Playground

**Author's Note:**

> This may be my personal favourite thing that I have written for Steggy Week so far. Enjoy!

To say Peggy was nervous about dropping her daughter off for her first day of school was an understatement. It wasn’t as though Sarah was a shy child, or she had barely spent any time away from her, but there was some deep maternal instinct roaring inside of her, telling her that placing her child in the care of strangers was a bad idea. Peggy knew that this was rather dramatic and rationalised with herself as she held Sarah’s hand as they walked into the playground. She walked past a group of mom’s chatting amongst themselves and caught a couple of things they were saying. 

“… and have you seen the new kindergarten teacher? Y U M!”

Peggy rolled her eyes. She glanced down at Sarah, who had upon entering the playground and seeing the groups of kids scattered around the playground, had shuffled slightly closer to Peggy’s side, her little face showing signs of apprehension. She squeezed her hand and smiled at her. 

“It’s okay to be nervous. Everything will be just fine, and you are going to have so much fun with your new teacher. Okay?” Peggy said reassuringly to her daughter. 

Sarah smiled and nodded, and they made their way over to the cluster of other nervous looking parents and their small children, obviously the meeting point for the new pupils and their parents. As they approached, a man fought his way out of the crowd and approached them. The lanyards around his neck told Peggy immediately that this man was not a parent, but the yummy new kindergarten teacher that she had just heard about. And she had to admit, maybe those gossiping women weren’t entirely wrong. The man was six foot at least, blonde hair, blue eyed and looked like a Greek statue come to life. He smiled as he approached them and Peggy smiled back, if only to hide the slight flustered feeling she was experiencing all of a sudden. 

“Hi there! I’m Steve Rogers, I’m the new kindergarten teacher.” The man said, smiling and holding out his hand.

Peggy took it his hand and shook it, before coming out of the daze she hadn’t realised she was in. 

“Nice to meet you Mr Rogers, I’m Peggy Carter and this is my daughter Sarah, who is joining you today. She’s been so excited all week, haven’t you?”

“Yes, but now I’m a bit nervous, but Mummy says that’s okay and it’s just normal to be nervous.” Sarah said, eyeing Steve with a level of apprehension.  
Steve looked at her and smiled, before kneeling down and whispering softly so only Peggy and Sarah could hear. 

“You wanna know a secret?”

Sarah nodded. 

“It’s my first day too and I’m pretty nervous too. Your Mom’s right, it’s okay to be nervous. What do you say that we be nervous and face this new class together huh?” 

Sarah looked up and him and smiled. 

“Yes please!” she exclaimed. 

Peggy looked down at her daughter and smiled at her before turning her gaze to Steve. Sarah liked him already and he put her at ease, which was an incredibly good mark in her book. Peggy knelt down and gave Sarah a big hug. 

“You have an amazing first day darling. I will be back to pick you up when you’re finished, and I cannot wait to hear all about it! I love you so much.”

“I love you too Mummy.”

Peggy let go, her eyes watering and watched as Steve led Sarah into the group of other little kids. Sarah looked back and waved at Peggy, and she waved back before turning away and letting the tears fall down her face when she was sure Sarah couldn’t see her anymore. Her daughter was her everything and she was growing up far too fast for Peggy’s liking. The earlier apprehension she was feeling however, was gone. Steve had had a kindness and a warmth about him that had immediately put Peggy at ease. He had been so good with Sarah too. It did help that he looked as if he had been freshly chiselled out of marble earlier this morning. Peggy gave herself a little shake. This was her daughter’s teacher she was thinking about. There were boundaries to be observed between a parent and their child’s teacher and Peggy had already had at least three fleeting thoughts that had skyrocketed far past that boundary line. This was definitely not how she had imagined her daughter’s first day at school, that much was certain. 

At the end of the school day when Peggy returned to pick up Sarah, she was greeted by her happy little face running at her shouting “Mummy!”, a piece of paper waving in her hand as she ran. Peggy scooped her up in her arms and lifted her onto her hip, hugging her close. 

“Did you have a good day my darling?”

“Yes!” exclaimed Sarah.

“We did drawing and ABC’s and Mr Rogers helped me open my crisps at recess cause I couldn’t get them open, and he asked us to draw pictures of our mummies and daddies so they could watch over us on our first day. I said I didn’t have a daddy, and he said that was okay so I just drew you as big as I could!”

This last comment pulled at Peggy’s heartstrings, but Sarah seemed unphased as she pulled up the picture she drew to show her. Rightly enough, Sarah’s crude depiction of Peggy filled almost every inch of the paper, making Peggy smile, and the sadness lift from her heart. When she looked up, she saw that Steve had made his way over to them, looking slightly sheepish.

“I’m sorry about that.” He gestured to the drawing in Peggy’s hand.

“If I had known I would never have…” He began.

“It’s alright. Sarah’s father jumped ship long before she was born so we don’t really know any different. We get on fine just us two.” Peggy cut in, having been too used to people apologising for her situation, despite the fact that all things considered, having Sarah was one of the best things to ever happen to her. 

Steve seemed to relax at these words, a small smile forming on his handsome features. Peggy quickly cut her thoughts off upon making this observation and put her focus on the drawing Sarah had given her. 

“Sarah did great today! Settled in really well. She’s a wonderful little kid.” Steve said, clearly eager to change the topic. 

Peggy smiled. How did this man manage to be so incredibly endearing even when skirting around awkward conversation topics? 

“Well I won’t argue with that assessment.” Peggy replied, still grinning. 

They stood smiling at each other for a few moments, until Sarah shifted in Peggy’s arms and she suddenly remembered where she was. 

“Thank you for today Mr Rogers, it was really lovely meeting you. I guess we’ll see you again tomorrow.” Peggy said, flustered. 

She swiftly put Sarah down, ushering her to the coat hooks on the far wall to pick up her little backpack. 

“It was great meeting you too Peggy.” Steve called at their retreating backs. 

As she was driving home, with Sarah happily chattering away about her day in the back, Peggy gave herself a serious talking to. He was Sarah’s teacher, her teacher, and yes it has been a while since she had met anyone she had felt so instantly comfortable with, who was good with Sarah and who she was physically attracted to, but this was just not going to happen. It had been a long time since she had been flustered like that, she felt like a teenager. Whatever happened, she could not, and would not date her daughter’s teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler alert, she did. I had a hell of a lot of fun writing this, so if even one person wants me to continue this I will happily oblige. The thing about drawing their parents so they could watch over them during their first day was actually inspired by something my dad used to do when my sister and I were little. When we were at nursery (preschool) and we got upset at him leaving us, he would draw a picture of himself on the wee blackboards to let us know that he was always there and looking after us. I obviously changed it a bit, but I always thought it was really cute, and I can defo see Steve doing something like this with his classes.


	2. The Reading Corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy has been avoiding Steve for the last few months, but unavoidable circumstances bring them closer than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, you all convinced me, here is the continuation of this fic. I have no idea how long it's gonna be at this point, I'm still fiddling with bits and pieces in the background, but there will be at least two, maybe three more chapters in this fic for absolute certain. But seriously it was not hard to convince me to write more of this, I was gonna do it even if one person said they wanted me to cause I had so much fun writing that first chapter. I had just as much fun writing this one, and guys, your hearts are gonna melt, cause it's so freaking cute. Enjoy!

Peggy managed to avoid having a lot of direct contact with her daughter’s teacher for the first few weeks of the semester, only exchanging the odd pleasantry during drop off and pick up. There still remained however, no matter how much or how little interaction she had with Steve, that flustered feeling that rose within her every time she saw him. She could not pinpoint exactly what it was about him that made her feel like this, his physical appearance that looked as if it had come straight from a Greek legend, or his way with the kids, Sarah in particular. Every day Sarah came home full to the brim with stories about Mr Rogers, about how he helped her with her maths or spelling, how he did the best voices during story time, or how he held her hand when he took her to the nurse after she fell over and skinned her knees during recess. With every story that Sarah told her of Mr Rogers, Peggy was slowly building up a picture of this kind and caring man, who loved his job and his students, who would do anything to ensure their happiness and wellbeing. Considering everything that had happened with Sarah’s father, Peggy couldn’t help but find all of these traits attractive. His physical appearance was just a lovely added bonus at this point. 

Peggy had managed to dance around Steve for the first few months of the semester, until one day she received a phone call from the school, telling her that Sarah had taken ill. After telling, not asking, her boss that she was leaving for the day, Peggy sped along the road, perhaps not paying as much heed to the speed limits as she may normally, but her baby was sick and needed her and getting to her was more important than any fine she might incur for not quite obeying the speed limit. By the time she reached the school, it was recess and Peggy bombed into the school, past all of the children playing outside. When she reached the nurses office, she was surprised to find that Sarah was not there. 

“Hi there, I’m Sarah Carter’s mum, I was phoned to say she was ill.” Peggy said frantically, after flagging down the nurse. 

“Ah yes, Sarah’s mum. She wasn’t enjoying all the noise coming in from the corridor so Mr Rogers took her back to the classroom where it would be quiet during recess. You can pick her up from there.” The nurse said, almost nonchalantly, waving Peggy in the direction of the classroom. 

Peggy thanked her and bolted down to Sarah’s classroom as fast as was sensible for both being in a school and in her uncomfortable work heels. The sight she was greeted with when she opened the classroom door made her heart melt completely. Over in the plush reading corner, Sarah and Steve, were sat side by side in soft beanbags, Steve holding a book, reading quietly, whilst Sarah sat, fast asleep on his other arm. Steve looked up when he heard the door shut and smiled softly at Peggy. 

“Hi.” He whispered, when Peggy had made her way over to them. 

“Hi. I’m so sorry about this.” She replied softly, bending down and gently pressing the back of her hand against Sarah’s head, checking her temperature. 

“It’s fine! She started not so feeling good after show and tell, but she went downhill a bit just before recess. I took her to the nurse, they called you, but she said her head was hurting, and there was folk clattering back and forth the corridor, making all kinds of noise, so I took her back here once the bell rang for recess. I asked her to pick out her favourite book, she said you always read this one to her, so we sat down, started reading, and not long after that she conked out.” Steve, explained, still whispering, glancing between Peggy and the sleeping Sarah as he spoke. 

Peggy gave a gentle smile to Steve as he spoke, absently stroking Sarah’s hair. He was so incredibly thoughtful and kind and the scene she had walked in on was so achingly domestic. Nope. Peggy shut down that line of thought before it could go any further. This is why she had kept him at arm’s length these past few months, these were not okay thoughts to be having about your daughter’s kindergarten teacher! She broke the eye contact with him, which had been slowly filling with tension, and looked down at her sleeping daughter, still tucked up on Steve’s arm.

“Thank you for looking after her until I got here.” She whispered and she tried to pick Sarah up without waking her up, which was not an easy task. 

“Oh, it was no problem. Sarah is a sweet little kid, anything I could do to make her feel better until you could get her home was just common sense.” Steve replied quietly as he slowly moved his arm out from under Sarah’s head as Peggy picked her up off of the bean bag. 

“There, you can have the feeling back in your arm now.” Peggy whispered, standing up slowly, Sarah’s head tucked into her shoulder. 

Steve shook his right arm appreciatively as he got up easily from the bean bag chair and smiled. 

“Thanks. Hopefully she isn’t out of commission for long. She’ll be missed around here till she gets better.”

Damn. How on earth did he know exactly how to tug at her heartstrings? Peggy’s heart had leapt at these words, and she was beginning to feel that oh so familiar flustered feeling creeping up her neck again. 

“Thank you. That is so sweet of you to say. I should probably get this one home, tucked into bed.” Peggy said quietly, still smiling. 

“Yes, yes, of course! Here let me just go get her things for you.”

And it was in that moment, with her daughter breathing heavily on her neck, her feet dangling by her waist, that Peggy was fully forced to admit to herself that she had a crush on her daughter’s kindergarten teacher. This was certainly going to make parents evening an interesting experience, she thought. Steve returned a few moments later, with Sarah’s little jacket and bag in tow. He offered to help them out to the car, which Peggy at first refused, but after struggling to hang onto either the bag or the jacket with a sleeping Sarah in her arms, she was forced to accept the offer. Once Sarah had been gently buckled into her car seat, having slept through this whole ordeal, Peggy turned to Steve once again. 

“Thank you so much for everything today. You really are quite wonderful. A wonderful teacher I mean, of course. You’re so good with Sarah, and with the rest of your class as well.” Peggy rambled, willing herself to stop talking before she truly embarrassed herself any further. 

Much to Peggy’s surprise, Steve had flushed slightly red at her words. 

“Thanks. That’s always nice to hear. It’s kids like Sarah that make my job easy. She’s such a sweet little kid, so smart too. You’ve done a really great job with her Peggy.” 

At the clearly accidental slip of her name, he flushed a deeper shade of red and awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck. This moment was thankfully broken by the bell ringing for the end of recess. They both jumped, startled out of their own little world. 

“I guess I should get going.” 

“I gotta get back to class.”

They spoke simultaneously, causing more blushing and smiling on both parts. 

“I’ll hopefully see you again in a few days Mr Rogers.” Peggy said as she finally went to get into her car. 

“Steve. Please, call me Steve.” He spluttered in reply. 

Peggy smiled widely. 

“Okay, Steve. See you soon.” 

He stood and waved them off, before quickly jogging back to his class as they pulled away. Peggy watched him in her rear-view mirror, a thrill running through her. Had he been flirting with her? Or was he actually that kind and considerate to all parents and their children? Peggy gave herself a shake. She was imagining this, just because she was attracted to him, she was imagining that he was flirting back, right? This all felt so unbearably teenage and high school, but she hadn’t felt like that, so comfortable yet so flustered since well before Sarah was born. It was thrilling, yet her heart felt heavy. Her daughter’s teacher, could she not have fallen for anyone else in the world? This really didn’t need to be her focus right now, she thought, as she lifted a sleepy Sarah out from her car seat, assuring her that everything was okay, that Mummy was here and that they were home. All of her focus right now, she thought, should be on Sarah, her sick little girl, who needed her Mummy to look after her and to tuck her in, and give her all the cuddles in the world. And that’s what she did. For the rest of the day, her focus, her dedication went into her daughter. That was until that evening, when she lay down to go to sleep and the very second she closed her eyes, the image of Sarah curled up with Steve in the reading corner, him looking up and smiling at her, flashed behind her eyelids. Her eyes snapped open instantly. This was going to be a very long school year, she thought as she rolled over. 

Sarah had been out of the count for five days before she was able to go back to school, Peggy having kept her home an extra day, just to make sure that she was feeling entirely better. So only when Peggy was fully satisfied that Sarah was well again, did they walk hand in hand into the school playground. Almost the instant they had walked into the school grounds her eyes caught with Steve’s and her stomach gave a flip. He jogged over to them smiling.

“Hi Sarah! I hope you’re feeling better now that you’ve come back to join us!” He said, smiling down at Sarah. 

“Yes Mr Rogers! I’m so happy to be back! Do you think I could do my show and tell today since I wasn’t feeling good enough to do it last week?” Sarah replied. 

“Of course you can!” Steve said encouragingly. 

Sarah gave him a big smile, before getting distracted by another little girl waving at her from the other side of the playground. 

“Mummy, Mummy, I see my friend Morgan, can I go play with her?” Sarah begged, tugging on her hand. 

“Yes of course! Just remember that Mummy is working late and so Auntie Angie will be picking you up today okay. So, who’s picking you up?”

“Auntie Angie!” Sarah replied diligently. 

“Okay, off you go. I will see you later tonight. I love you!”

“I love you too!” Sarah shouted over her shoulder as she ran towards her friend, brunette pigtails flying behind her. 

As she turned to go, she was stopped by the sound of Steve’s voice next to her. 

“I uh, just wanted to say it’s nice to have you back. You and Sarah of course.” Steve said, his face flushing. 

Peggy felt herself go a little red too. 

“Thank you Steve.” She said, flustered again, feeling it right down to her toes. 

That had to be flirting, hadn’t it, she thought as she walked out of the school playground. It still didn’t change the fact that he was Sarah’s teacher. If there was one simple way to give your kid a hard time at school, it was to shack up with their teacher. But Sarah loves him, all the kids do, a small traitorous part of her mind thought. No, this was not a boundary that should be crossed, or attempted to be crossed in any way shape or form, no matter how attractive, kind, sweet, thoughtful and good with her daughter he was. Though she would be lying to herself if she said that she hadn’t though about his arm flexing after he got up from that bean bag last week every single day since it had happened. God, she was in deep shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I keep saying, this fic is so much fun to write, and I'm so excited for you guys to see where this amazing journey takes them. Also yes, Sarah's friend Morgan is a reference to Tony Stark's daughter, cause who else would Sarah be going to school with :) And I know I keep teasing you with what happened with Sarah's dad and who he is but do not worry, it is coming, things just need to get a little more serious around here before that gets explained.


	3. Parents Evening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy attends Parents Evening. Events occur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely people. Please note that I am not American and I have zero clue how the school system works, so this is probably a wildly inaccurate portrayal of this kind of thing in the US, however it is based on my own experiences from Primary school (Elementary School). Enjoy!

Peggy stopped intentionally avoiding Steve after the day Sarah had been sick, and the consequential moments in both the car park and the playground. He made her happy, she couldn’t help smiling whenever she saw him, she enjoyed talking to him and he seemed to be head over heels for her kid, why should she deny herself something that made her happy. It wasn’t going to turn into anything serious, it couldn’t, not whilst he was Sarah’s teacher still. Their conversations never really got much further than pleasantries, and on the odd occasion they would stop and chat about Sarah or what they had been doing in class that day. Each time they wore wide smiles, and the compliments back and forth were rife, that was until Sarah started pulling on Peggy’s hand, asking if they were gonna go home now. Nothing had progressed further than some innocent flirting here and there, but Peggy knew she liked him, and that she had never liked someone so much so quickly before. It had all been a little overwhelming when she thought about it. She tried hard to compartmentalise her feelings and to not to think about him outside of the school grounds, but it was hard when Sarah came home every day and told her every little detail of what Mr Rogers had been teaching them today. His handwriting was on her fridge for goodness sake, on a drawing Sarah had done for their class project, Peggy proudly hanging it on the fridge when Sarah had brought it home one day, a wide smile spread across her little face. This was not helped when one day Sarah came running up to her at the end of the school day and thrust the piece of paper she was holding into Peggy’s hands. The title read ‘Parents Evening’ and it was then that Peggy knew she was really screwed. 

The night of parents evening Peggy paced back in forth in her bedroom, fretting. What did you wear to Parents Evening, to have a one on one session with your child’s teacher who you had a thing for to talk about your child’s progress in school?! 

“You’re gonna wear a hole in that carpet English.” A voice said from the entryway.

Her friend Angie was leaning against the doorway, grinning. 

“Help me.” Peggy said quietly.

Angie laughed and bounced into Peggy’s room, landing on her bed. 

“Right, what are the options?” Angie asked matter-of-factly. 

“It’s between this blue shirt and skirt combo, or the red dress.” Peggy said, gesturing to the items hung up on her wardrobe door.   
Angie leaned back on her arms and considered the items before her for a moment before replying. 

“If you want to fully kill the guy, go for the red dress. If you don’t want to completely kill him, and still look like a knockout, go skirt and shirt with the matching heels. That way you don’t look like you are trying too hard, you allow his eyes to remain in his head, and you can actually talk about Sarah before you jump him.” Angie replied, a wry smile on her face the whole time. 

Peggy gave her a stare that could kill. 

“I’m not going to jump his bones, I’m going to talk about Sarah, and how she’s getting on in school, how she has been settling in.”

“Yeah and then you’re gonna settle onto his lap. Peg, you’ve been talking about this guy for weeks, you clearly like him, the look of disappointment he gives me every time I have picked up Sarah from school tells me he clearly likes you, why not just go for it?” 

“He’s Sarah’s teacher. It would be weird, especially for Sarah. Can you imagine if one of your parents had started dating one of your elementary school teachers?” She spluttered. 

Angie gave her a look of disbelief. 

“Are you sure you aren’t just using that as an excuse to keep him at a distance. I know you’re sensitive about relationships since Fred, and understandably so, but Peg, you can’t hide yourself away for the rest of your life! You’re young, you’re hot, so is he! You could seriously just eat that man with a spoon! Just go for it!” Angie exclaimed. 

Peggy returned to giving her a death glare as she pulled the chosen outfit off of the wardrobe doors, before starting to get changed. 

“You are never allowed to give Sarah relationship advice if this is the kind of stuff you are going to tell her.” Peggy said as she finished zipping up her skirt. 

“Everything I say, I say for your own good English.” Angie said, bouncing off the bed. 

“Right, you know the rules, bedtime is eight o’clock, no sugar, no scary movies or stories before bed, no matter how much she may beg for either.” Peggy said as she slipped her feet into her shoes. 

“Aye aye Captain. Auntie Angie will make sure everything is ship shape whilst you go get your man!” Angie replied, saluting.   
Peggy simply just rolled her eyes. She kissed Sarah goodbye before she left and got in the car, bracing herself for what was to come, trying to put everything that Angie had said firmly out of her mind. 

Peggy sat outside the classroom, bouncing her leg nervously as she waited. She noticed that she seemed to be the only single parent in Sarah’s class, everyone else coming in and out of Steve’s classroom in pairs. Fretting about this distracted her for a moment until finally it was her turn to go in, Steve standing at the door, gesturing her in, a wide smile on his face. When Peggy settled into the chair in front of his desk, she began bouncing her leg again, and started playing with the silver bracelet on her wrist. When Steve sat in the chair behind the desk, she looked up nervously and smiled at him. He looked just as nervous as she felt. He let out a small sigh before rifling through the stack of papers on his desk, pulling one sheaf out to the top before he began. 

“So, Peggy, is it okay to call you Peggy?” He blurted nervously. 

“Yes, yes of course!” She replied, equally as flustered. 

“So, Sarah Carter… Sarah is doing wonderfully in my class. She has met all of her targets that would be expected at this stage, and has gone beyond some of them, she definitely has above average reading comprehension, she whizzes through all the books I give her, I’ve had to start stealing some from the first grade classroom. Her math skills are fantastic too, she definitely has the potential to bring that skill level up a bit with some encouragement, but I wouldn’t worry too much about that, cause as I said she is right on target for her age group and what we would be hoping to see at this point in the school year. Arts and crafts are a big favourite with her, she always gets stuck right in with those lessons with such enthusiasm, it is so great to see her enjoying herself like that. She has settled into school life really well, she’s got a good little group of friends, and the biggest imagination I have ever seen!”

Peggy let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding. These were all things that Peggy knew about her daughter, but it was nice to have them confirmed. 

“Yes, story time and playing pretend are the two big things in the house right now. I cannot seem to find dress up clothes that match exactly what she wants, if you know where to source a bright yellow dragon costume, and a doll with rainbow coloured hair do let me know.” Peggy replied, smiling. 

Steve let out a laugh. 

“Yes, that imagination of hers will take her places, I think. She’s never mean with it either. I mean you get some kids who want to be king of the universe, or knights that slay dragons, but there’s always a benevolence to her characters, and that extends to her actual personality as well. She’s such a sweet little kid, always helping the other kids, but not being pushy about it. Definitely a special little girl you’ve got there Peggy.” Steve said with a grin.   
Peggy felt herself go bright red. 

“Thank you. It’s so lovely to hear someone else saying how wonderful she is, not just me telling anyone who will listen.”

They exchanged a heated gaze for a moment, before Peggy remembered where she was and gave herself a shake. 

“So, is there anything else I need to know right now, any dates or events coming up that I should be aware of?” Peggy said quickly, still fighting off the flustered feeling that was still creeping up the back of her neck. 

“Yes!” Steve replied, seeming to quickly come to. 

“Yes, there’s unfortunately some state testing coming up next month. Nothing to worry about, it’s just to make sure that all of the kids are where they are supposed to at this level. It’ll mostly focus on reading comprehension and math skills, but as I said, Sarah is a smart little kid, she’ll fly through it with no problem. My aim for it is to make it as stress free for both the kids and the parents, by just treating it like a normal daily task, not using words like testing or exam or anything around the kids. You’d be surprised how much of an effect stuff like that can have on kids actually, there’s studies all over the place about how kids immediately associate those kids of words with stress. They may be little and all, but they are certainly not immune to that unfortunately. But as I said, Sarah is exactly where she needs to be in her math skills and her reading skills are off the chart for her age, so she will do just fine!” 

Peggy felt her heart melt a bit at this speech. She was just in awe of how much he cared for those kids, how much he knew about how their little brains worked, how much he clearly loved his job. 

“And then we have the end of year presentation in June. Basically, each class puts on a bit of a show, telling parents and carers what they’ve been looking at in their class projects all year. I’m looking forward to it, the kids have done some really cool stuff this year, I can’t wait for you all to see it!” Steve said excitedly. 

“Sounds like it’s going to be great! As you know, Sarah isn’t exactly shy, I’m sure she’ll be right in the thick of it.” 

“Yeah, I have a part in mind for her that I think she’s gonna love doing.” 

Peggy’s heart swelled at this, and for the second time that evening she had to remind herself where she was, and that some of the thoughts flying through her brain were highly inappropriate for the situation she was in. 

“So, is there anything you’d like to ask me, any questions before we wrap up?” Steve asked, breaking Peggy’s reverie. 

“No, no, you’ve done a wonderful job explaining everything this evening Steve. Thank you!” 

“Thank you, Peggy.” He said, smiling. 

She got up to go, and Steve silently held out his hand for her to shake. She took it and immediately felt a warmth, like electricity, running through her fingers and up her arm. Steve must have felt it too, as he looked down at their intertwined hands in, a look of disbelief spreading across his face. They dropped each other’s hands as quickly as they had taken them up and stared at each other. 

“Good evening Steve.” Peggy said softly. 

She began to walk away, but she had barely gone two steps forward before she felt a hand on hers pulling her back. She turned back to look at him, her hand still in his, Steve’s eyes filled with what looked to be a mixture of admiration and desperation, his gaze flitting between her eyes and her lips.

“Peggy.” He breathed. 

He pulled her forward and gently caught her lips against his. Months of holding back her feelings seemed to explode in a millisecond, and she kissed him back fervently. Slowly her hands made their way up to the back of his neck, before tangling her fingers into his hair, as she had been, but would never admit it to anyone, dreaming about for months, pulling him closer. His hands too had made their way up to her face, cradling it like it was the most precious thing he had ever held. They stood there for a few moments like that, wrapped up in each other, kissing like it was all they needed in the world to survive. When they broke apart, Peggy stood back sharply, her eyes wide. What was she doing? Kissing her daughter’s teacher in her classroom?! Oh god this was her daughter’s classroom. Her eyes began to suddenly fill with tears. 

“I’m-I’m sorry.” She stammered, pushing Steve away from her.

She dashed out of the classroom, leaving Steve standing in the middle of his classroom, bewildered, her red lipstick still smeared across his lips. 

Peggy let silent tears fall down her face as she drove home. What was she thinking? How would she ever be able to set foot in those school grounds ever again? How was she ever going to face Steve again? Maybe she could bribe Angie into doing pick-ups for the rest of the school year? God Angie was going to have a field day with this. There was no way she was not going to notice Peggy’s slightly tousled hair, and she definitely wouldn’t miss the mess which was her lipstick. Angie appeared like something out of a magic trick the second Peggy shut the door. 

“So English, how did it – woah!” Angie stopped the second Peggy turned around to face her.

“English, did you nail your daughter’s teacher in her classroom?! I was seriously just kidding about doing that!” Angie asked aghast. 

“No, god Angie, no!” Peggy exclaimed, before ushering her quietly into the living room so as not to wake Sarah. 

“Well, what happened?!” Angie demanded as she flopped onto the couch. 

Peggy sank down onto the couch and tears started rolling down her face again.

“Oh shit Peg, did he hurt you?!” Angie asked, looking ready to go do unspeakable things to Steve as soon as Peggy gave her the word. 

“No, not at all. He was lovely, he’s always so lovely.” Peggy sniffed quietly.

“Then what the hell happened?”

“He kissed me Angie. And I kissed him back quite enthusiastically. But then I suddenly remembered where we were and who he was and I just bolted. I guess it just fully hit me that I can never be anything more to him than his pupil’s mother.” She explained. 

“Why not?” Angie asked innocently. 

“He could lose his job! I’m not sure if there’s a rule against dating a parent but I’m more than certain that it is frowned upon. And I couldn’t do that to Sarah, this would be teasing fodder for the rest of her life. If anyone ever finds out what happened tonight, they could tease her until she graduates.”   
Peggy put her head in her hands and sighed heavily. It had been a long night. Angie didn’t say anything but shuffled over to Peggy and draped herself over her in the biggest hug she could manage. They sat like that for a while until Angie broke the silence. 

“So how was the kiss?”

Peggy managed a laugh and a small smile. 

“Beyond amazing.” She sighed. 

Peggy had no idea what was going to happen the next time she saw Steve. In fact, she didn’t even want to think about it right now. What she did know was that as long as she had Angie, and most importantly, as long as she had Sarah, everything would be just fine, even if right now it did not feel particularly fine at all.


	4. The Empty Classroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angie gives Peggy some advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, beautiful readers of this fic. I have been trying to upload this fic every other day, but this week life got in the way of my writing time and so this chapter is only just ready to go. I'm going to try and keep to the every other day schedule, but don't freak out if I don't, because unfortunately I am an adult human with adult human responsibilities like work, and laundry and feeding myself and doing dishes, to do before I can sit down and write. Also somehow every single of of these chapters is getting longer than the last so it is taking me longer to write them, so again that may contribute to the chapters not exactly coming as planning. Okay imma stop talking shit now so you can get onto the chapter, enjoy!

True to her word, for the week following her kiss with Steve, Peggy begged Angie to pick Sarah up from school each day. Drop offs were fine, she would catch a glimpse of him, but nothing more. Pick-ups are where the true danger lay, with ample opportunity for chit chat or explanations or confrontations and Peggy did not feel ready for any of that at all. Finally, only after Angie said she could under no circumstances pick Sarah up the following day because she had a very important audition, did Peggy finally concede and resigned herself to the fact that she was finally going to have to see Steve again after what had happened at parents evening. This was definitely the most nervous she had felt upon entering the school grounds, even more than parents evening. Her heart leapt at seeing Sarah, as it always did, scooping her up in her arms with a big smile on her face. She put her down only to let her go and pick up her stuff. As Sarah ran away to go and get her bag and coat, Peggy realised that she had made a mistake in not going with her, as she saw Steve, an apprehensive look on his face, making his way towards her. 

“Hi.” He said nervously, once he had made his way over. 

“Hello.” Peggy replied stiffly. 

“Can we talk maybe? After school one day or maybe I could take yo-“ 

He was interrupted midsentence by the reappearance of Sarah, who had popped up like a jack in the box, clutching her little jacket, her bag bouncing against her back excitedly. Immediately she grabbed onto Peggy’s hand and pulled impatiently. 

“Come on Mummy let’s go, my first class is tonight, I don’t wanna be late!” She said excitedly. 

Steve gave her a look of intrigue. 

“Karate lessons. I did a bit when I was younger, still do when I get the rare chance. Sarah heard me talking about it and wanted to give it a try. Tonight’s her first session.” Peggy quickly explained, purposefully looking down at Sarah, trying her hardest not to make eye contact with Steve. 

“Well that sounds like it will be a lot of fun! I betcha you’ll show them just how it’s done!” Steve said happily to Sarah. 

“Yes, of course I will Mr Rogers!” Sarah smiled back at him. 

“Well we really should get going, we don’t have much time before your class begins, and I’d like to get some dinner in you before then. Thanks again Mr Rogers.” Peggy said hurriedly, before ushering Sarah out of the classroom. 

What she didn’t see on the way out was Steve’s face, which was a mixture of hurt and confusion, gazing after her as she all but pushed Sarah out of the room. 

This pattern continued for the next week, Peggy rushing Sarah out of the classroom as quickly as possible at the end of the day in order to avoid as much interaction with Steve as she possibly could. She’d managed to reconcile it in her head, that she was far too busy to start a new relationship right now, what with raising Sarah and her job, there was just no time. Angie naturally managed to immediately poke about a million holes in this the second Peggy told her.

“That is bullshit Peggy. You are just scared of commitment, and don’t you dare bring up what happened with Fred as an excuse for chickening out of this and scaring off a man you really like and who really likes you. I know he hurt you, but you have to stop using that as an excuse to keep Steve at a distance. As for your work, you got a promotion just before Sarah started school which allows you to delegate more, I remember you telling me that because you were so excited because it was gonna allow you to have more time with Sarah, cause it allowed you to be a hell of a lot more flexible with your time. As for Sarah, she’s like the most low maintenance kid in the world, and even when it is hard, wouldn’t it be a whole lot easier if you had someone to share it with??” 

Peggy gave Angie a long glower before drinking deeply from her wine glass. 

“I’m just telling it how it is English.” Angie said in reply to Peggy’s glare. 

Peggy drained her glass before slumping back into the couch. 

“It’s just scary Angie.” She said quietly after a few moments. 

“What is Peg?”

“This, this whole situation. Everything is so uncertain. I hate uncertainty, you know that.” 

“See, now that’s where you don’t get it English. Love, and all the pertaining bullshit that comes with it, it unplannable. If you try and plan your life around it, you are just gonna end up in a big old hot mess, like you are now. I know you don’t want to get hurt again but honey you have locked your heart away since before Sarah was born. Don’t you think you otta let it out, preferably on a tall, dreamy, blonde-haired blue-eyed beefcake who will remain unnamed at this point.” 

Peggy let out a small laugh.

“See, the very least you can do is talk to him. Find out if there even is the possibility of more before you go swearing off men for the rest of your days.” Angie said with a small smile.

Peggy shuffled in her seat slightly before replying.

“You’re right.” She mumbled against the rim of her wine class.

“I’m sorry, what?! Can you say that a little louder so the mic on my phone can pic this up cause I am recording this.” Angie said in a state of absolute disbelief.

“You’re right!” Peggy exclaimed.

“I should at least talk to him. He deserves an explanation at the very least.”

“Yeah! Go get your man Peg!”

Peggy glared at Angie again, this time, a slight hint of amusement spread across her face.

The next day, Peggy, with Angie in tow, went to pick up Sarah with a steely reserve. She was going to talk to Steve, nothing more, despite the various lewd suggestions Angie kept making on the drive over. She strode into the classroom feeling a mixture of both reckless confidence and overwhelming nerves. And then Sarah appeared, and all of those emotions washed away. Sarah always managed to calm her down, her little smiling face looking up at her instantly just put the world to rights. 

“Hello Mummy! I didn’t know Auntie Angie was coming today as well!” Sarah exclaimed, her little face lighting up when she saw Angie behind her mum.

“Yes! You, me and Auntie Angie are gonna go get ice cream, but first Mummy needs to have a word with Mr Rogers about something important okay?”

“Yes! Auntie Angie knows the best ice cream place!” Sarah squealed.

“I’m sure she does!” Peggy laughed at Sarah’s reaction.

“So you go with Auntie Angie, and wait whilst Mummy talks to Mr Rogers, okay?”

“Okay! Just don’t be too long!”

“I won’t my darling.”

And at that, Sarah went bouncing over to Angie, who was laughing and led her out of the classroom, but not before shooting Peggy a wink over her shoulder, before returning to the most important topic of conversation, which was a fierce debate about which was the best flavour of ice cream.

“I’d have to say, I’m a cookie dough kind of guy myself.” A voice came from behind Peggy.

Steve was smiling at her, his hands stuffed unceremoniously in his pockets.

“Hi.” Peggy breathed.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” Steve said plainly.

“Yes, and I must apologise for it. I haven’t been quite in the right mind to since…”

“Since parents evening?” He finished.

“Yes. I was hoping to have a word about that with you actually.” Peggy said quietly, the class still filled with parents and kids, milling about with bags and coats.

“Of course. Just give it five minutes, these guys will be out of here by then.”

Peggy waited, standing awkwardly by Steve’s desk, swaying back and forth on her heels, whilst the last of students and parents slowly filtered out. When the last child was ushered out of the classroom, Steve walked over to her, a defeated look on his face.

“So, you wanted to talk?” He said, perching himself on the edge of his desk.

“Yes. But first I feel as if I should explain something. If you’ll remember, when we first met, I mentioned Sarah’s father in the passing.” Peggy said nervously.

“Yeah, you just said he’d never been around.” Steve said, confused.

“Yes. His name was Fred Wells, we met when I was very young, in the army. I joined when I was just out of school, and he was older, more superior. There’s only so many ways you can rebel in the army, but Fred was my small way. We were together for some time, and everything was wonderful, nothing seemed off. Fred had a temper at times, but he was never violent, he channelled that anger into his work. He was kind to me, and I loved him for it, and I thought he loved me back. We did some tours abroad together, everything was, or it seemed perfect. I was very happy. Then when I was twenty-two, I found out I was pregnant. It wasn’t ideal, we were both in line for promotion and it was clearly not planned. I have never seen anyone so angry as Fred when I told him.”

A tear that Peggy hadn’t anticipated fell down her cheek, but she steeled herself and continued.

“He told me that I should get rid of it, that I was jeopardising both of our careers. I can still picture his face when I told him I was keeping it. Like I said he’d never been violent before, but he hit me across the face when I told him. He shouted that we were over and that if I did keep it, he would have nothing to do with it and to not even bother putting him down on the birth certificate. I was crushed. He had been my first serious relationship and he had just thrown me and our child away like we were nothing. I left active service, got a job doing admin and progressed to where I am now. When Sarah was born, I kept Fred’s wish, I didn’t put him on the birth certificate, so Sarah wasn’t really lying when she said she doesn’t have a father, legally she doesn’t. He doesn’t even know when she was born, I cut off all communication after that day. I’m not sure he would even want to hear from me if I tried. My point is, and I know I’m making it badly, is that I have done my upmost best to protect myself, and by extension Sarah, from any emotional damage, because I know I could not do that again. What happened with Fred emotionally killed me, and the only reason I kept going was because I had to take care of myself because I had this whole other life to think about now. Keeping Sarah is easily the best decision I ever made, she motivated me to live when I felt at my lowest and I can only love her with everything that I am in return for that. And then I met you, and you are wonderful, and sweet and you care so much about my daughter and my guard slipped. That’s why I ran that night. Because I was so scared about getting hurt again, and I was worried about the consequences. I didn’t want you to lose your job, because clearly you love it, and I would hate to be the one that took that away from you, and I dreaded how the other children would treat Sarah if they knew, and very and utterly selfishly, I did it to protect myself. So that’s why I ran that night. Because I couldn’t bare hurting you, or Sarah or myself.”

Steve looked at her with wide eyes, before standing up and placing a gently on her cheek, wiping away the tears that were slowly rolling down.

“Peggy, I’m so sorry that happened to you. I’m sorry that Sarah has had to grow up without a father because that guy was an asshole and hurt you so badly.”

He pulled her into a hug, which despite his firm exterior, was surprisingly soft.

“You know, I took to Sarah as soon as you told me her name. Sarah was my mother’s name. She died when I was little, and I’ve never had a pupil with her name before.” Steve said quietly into Peggy’s hair after a few moments.

Peggy pushed herself back slightly to look up at him, his beautiful blue eyes gazing down at her.

“I named her Sarah because someone told me that it meant ‘princess’ or ‘noblewoman’. I liked the idea of naming her something that meant she was special, because she would always be so special, so incredibly precious to me.” Peggy said softly still gazing into his eyes.

Steve smiled and went to lean in before Peggy put a hand on his chest and stopped him in his tracks.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t get fired for this? Are you sure you want this? Do you know what you’re taking on? It’s not just me, it’s Sarah too, we are a package deal.” Peggy said very quickly.

Steve laughed.

“I won’t get fired; we may have to keep it on the down low for a while until Sarah is out of my class but other than that it will be fine. And I know you come as a package, seeing you with Sarah, how much you love her, how well you’ve done taking care of her all on your own for all these years is one of the many things I admire about you.” He replied with a smile.

Peggy hardly let the last word come out of his mouth before she pulled him towards her, kissing him fiercely as he held her tightly to him. They broke apart, both breathing heavily, wide grins plastered across their faces.

“You sure you’re not gonna run away this time?” Steve asked breathlessly.

“Not a chance.” Peggy replied, pulling him down for another kiss.

This time when they broke apart Peggy looked at Steve with a very studious look on her face, clearly making her mind up about something.

“Do you want to come with us to go and get ice cream?” She asked very seriously, after a moment of silence.

“Well, I hear your friend Angie knows the best ice cream place, so I think I would be a fool to turn down that offer. Just give me five minutes to gather up my stuff.” He replied with a grin.

Five minutes later as Peggy led Steve out to her car, where a bouncing Sarah, and Angie, who upon seeing them both, wore the most shit-eating grin Peggy had ever seen, were waiting for them.

“Is Mr Rogers coming for ice cream too?” Sarah asked excitedly upon seeing her teacher approach the car.

“Yes I am, but only if that’s okay with you Sarah?” Steve said to her.

“Yes! Lets GOOOOOOO!” Sarah cried as a kind of a reply.

As Peggy climbed into the driver’s seat and Steve, almost comically wedged himself into the back seat next to Sarah, Angie continued to give Peggy her signature smug grin.

“So that went well did it?” Angie said, wiggling her eyebrows as she did so.

“Oh shut up.” Peggy replied, but she couldn’t help the smile that was plastered across her face.

Checking her mirror before she pulled away, Peggy saw Steve talking animatedly to Sarah in the back seat, but caught his eye for a moment, a smile very similar to the one she couldn’t take off of her face, spread across his. Her heart leapt at the sight of them together, and her mind fabricated a million similar scenarios which flashed through her brain in a second, but some of them were so beautifully overwhelming, like the image of Sarah and Steve opening Christmas presents together in the living room of her home, that she had to take a moment before she pulled away.

“Mummy come on lets go!” Sarah cried impatiently from the back.

“Yeah, come on Mommy lets go. Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream, ice cream!” Angie started chanting next to her.

“Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream, ice cream, ice cream.” Both Sarah and Steve had joined in the chanting from the back seat.

Peggy didn’t think her smile could get any wider or her heart any fuller. She finally pulled the car out of school car park, with mass cheers from Angie, Sarah and Steve. In that moment, her life felt pretty perfect, despite the fact that she knew that she would be dealing with a sugar comatose Sarah, which was not the prettiest of sights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you that you'd eventually get the story of Sarah's dad. Also I know he wasn't an asshole canonically, but eh, I kind of had to make him in this in order for the story to work. The next big mystery is, what does Peggy do for a living???? I kind of hinted here and there about it, so see if you can riddle that out. Until next time!
> 
> Skye :)


	5. The First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy and Steve go out on their first date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Yeah I'm gonna try and update every other day." Who was that in the last chapter making promises she couldn't keep. Sorry that this took so very long guys. This chapter actually ended up being so long that I decided to chop it up and make it into two chapters. I did not mean for the date to be a whole thing, but Peggy and Steve decided differently. Enjoy!

Peggy paced back and forth in front of her wardrobe, glaring at the clothes hung on the doors. This evening, she and Steve were going on their first proper date, alone. Ice cream with Angie and Sarah a few days ago had been a rousing success, but this would be the first time that they would be alone in a completely romantic situation on their own. Peggy was excited, but also cripplingly nervous. Just to add to that, she had no idea what to wear. She stopped and stared down the outfits littering her wardrobe door like she was investigating them for murder.

“You’re gonna burn a hole in them if you keep looking at them like that.” Angie’s voice sounded from the doorway. 

“Nothing seems right! What the hell do you even wear on a date??” Peggy exclaimed. 

“You are a very intelligent lady Peg, but you are clearly missing the obvious here. You just need to trust me when it comes to this kind of stuff.” 

Angie shoved Peggy out of the way and disregarding the outfit options Peggy had painstakingly put together, began raking in her wardrobe, emerging with a familiar red dress. Peggy raised her eyebrows at the sight of it. 

“I thought you said I shouldn’t wear that unless I wanted to, and I quote ‘fully kill the guy.’” 

“Yeah, and that’s exactly what a first date is for.” Angie said, throwing the dress at Peggy. 

“Get dressed, he’ll be here soon, and then you’ll have to pick his eyeballs up from the floor.” She said as she left the room, a wide smile across her face.   
Peggy rolled her eyes as Angie left, but began pulling the red dress on as soon as the door closed behind her. She had just finished getting ready when the doorbell rang. Moving as fast as she could before Angie could open the door, she ran as quickly down the stairs, but she was too late. 

“ENGLISH, YOUR MAN IS HERE.” Angie bellowed from the front door. 

Peggy turned as red as her dress, and she heard Sarah giggling from the living room. She hadn’t yet sat Sarah down and told her that she was dating her teacher, if she was being perfectly honest with herself, she didn’t know what to say and was putting it off for as long as possible. When she reached the door, she was blown away. Steve was standing there with a bouquet of red roses and was wearing a blue button down that looked as if it was barely keeping his shoulders contained. Peggy took a sharp breath in and moved forward, a smile that she couldn’t help, forming on her face. Steve looked like he had been hit by a truck. His eyes gave her a long once over before fixing themselves on her face, a slow, goofy grin spreading across his features. 

“Hi.” He said quietly. 

“Hi.” She replied. 

“Uh, th-these are for you.” Steve stuttered, suddenly seeming to remember himself, and held out the flowers.  
Peggy’s heart melted a bit as she took the flowers from his hands. 

“Thank you, they’re beautiful Steve. If you just give me a minute, I’ll go and put these in some water and say goodnight to Sarah and I’ll be right out.”

Reluctantly she turned away from him, giving a knowing glare to Angie, silently telling her to behave herself in her absence, and headed to the kitchen. She took a deep, steadying breath as she filled the vase with water. She had never felt so nervous in her life before. Was this a good thing? Was she only this nervous because she liked him so much, or because she was scared that she was going to mess this up? Maybe a mixture of both? All these thoughts flew through Peggy’s head as she placed the flowers in the vase and headed into the living room to say goodnight to Sarah. Sarah was tucked up on the couch, dressed in her pyjamas, cuddling her favourite toy, a stuffed giraffe called Georgie, as some mindless cartoons played on the TV. 

“Right my darling, Mummy is going out, so you are to be good for Auntie Angie.” Peggy said softly as she sat next to Sarah on the couch. 

“Yes Mummy, I’m always good for Auntie Angie.” 

Sarah’s wide eyes looked her up and down for a moment, taking her in. 

“You look very pretty Mummy.” 

Peggy’s heart melted, but in a very different way from when she was looking at Steve. She leaned over and gave Sarah a kiss on the head. 

“Thank you my darling. Now give me a hug before I go.” She said with a smile. 

Sarah crawled over to her, and into her lap, wrapping her small arms around her as far as she could reach. Peggy pressed another kiss to the top of her daughters’ head before letting her go. 

“I love you.” She said quietly as she got up. 

“I love you too.” Sarah replied as she settled herself back onto the couch, Georgie placed in her lap. 

Peggy smiled at her daughter before steeling herself and making her way back to the front door. The sight she was greeted with immediately told her that Angie had not kept to her silent warning. Steve was looking very uncomfortable, whilst Angie towered, as much as she could, up at him, looking as if she was giving him a row. She stopped talking the second she heard Peggy approaching again. Peggy shot her yet another warning look. 

“You know the rules, no sugar, no scary films, bed by eight.” She said to Angie, a tone of motherly reprimand in her voice.

“Yeah, yeah, now you two kids go have fun. And you…” She pointed her finger at Steve. 

“Have her home by eleven.” She said in a mock serious voice. 

“Yes ma’am.” Steve replied, still looking slightly uncomfortable. 

Angie all but shoved Peggy out of the door and slammed it behind her with a sly grin on her face. Peggy gave a small chuckle of disbelief at her friend before turning to Steve. 

“What exactly did she say to you that made you look as if you wanted to melt into the ground?” She asked as they began walking down the garden path. 

“Well, she did the whole ‘if you hurt my friend, I will hurt you’ speech. She has a flair for description, telling me what various body parts would go where should I break your heart.” He replied, looking at the ground almost the entire time. 

Peggy let out a snort of indignation. 

“I have half a mind to go back and tell her that I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself thank you very much.”

“I don’t doubt that you can. Her heart is in the right place, but she can be very scary.” Steve said, finally looking up at her, catching her eyes with his own. 

Peggy laughed. 

“Yes, she can be. But Angie has been very good to me, especially when I first got pregnant with Sarah. She’s an extremely good and loyal friend and I wouldn’t trade her for the world, though I will speak to her about threatening you in the future.” 

Steve let out a chuckle. When they reached his car, Peggy was very flattered when he opened her door for her, closed it before getting in himself. She’d never really gone on such a formal date before and Steve behaving like an absolute textbook gentleman was making that familiar flushed feeling creep up the back of her neck again. The restaurant Steve had chosen was nice, without being overtly flashy. His gentlemanly behaviour continued into the restaurant, where he helped her into her chair, and as he did so Peggy felt her entire face go red, and her cheeks cramped with trying to keep her smile contained. 

“So…” She said once they had both sat down and had drinks to distract their hands. 

“So…” He replied. 

“I have not been on a date in a very long time. I forget what you’re supposed to do.” Peggy said with a smile. 

At this Steve visibly relaxed slightly. 

“Honestly? Me either.” He replied. 

“I think you are supposed to talk about yourselves, but I think I have done entirely far too much of that within this relationship already. Tell me about yourself, how did you get into teaching?” Peggy asked. 

“That is fair. Well, like yourself I was in the army for a while. Took me a while to get there, I was a fairly scrawny kid, and I had a late growth spurt, so they didn’t let me in until I was twenty, but I did a fair amount of work in the two years to get me to the point where they actually accepted me. I played their game for a few years, did a couple of tours abroad, like yourself. Then when I was twenty-four, my uh, my best friend got killed in action.”. Steve spoke solemnly. 

He went quiet for a moment and Peggy silently reached across the table and took his hand. He took it willingly and went on. 

“After Bucky died, I just realised that the army wasn’t what I wanted anymore. I had to find something else to channel my passion into, you know. I decided to go back to school, maybe root around and see what I wanted to do there. I started tutoring kids in my spare time to make a little extra cash and just fell in love with it. So, I decided to major in education, graduated a little over two years ago now and have been teaching kindergarten ever since. I was in New York City for a while, but I grew up in Brooklyn and I had always wanted to come back, and that’s how I ended up teaching Sarah and how I ended up right here.” Steve finished with a small smile.   
Peggy looked at him with a mixture of admiration and sadness on her face, her hand still clasped in his. 

“I’m so sorry about your friend Steve. Almost everyone I know who was in the forces lost someone dear to them, but that doesn’t make it any easier. The shit you see out there, it never goes away.” Peggy said softly. 

“No, no it doesn’t. But I found dwelling on it doesn’t make it any easier. I still think about Bucky every day, not because I’m dwelling on how much that it hurts that he’s gone, but so that I continue to live my life, every day, in a way which would make him proud.” Steve said with a sad smile. 

“Would he be proud of you now?” Peggy asked. 

“Right now? Right now, he’d be giving me a grin not unlike the one your friend Angie gave you before we left. I was never any good with girls and dating in my youth, Bucky was though, always trying to get me to come out on double dates with him. I think he’d like you a lot, though I think you may have been subject to a similar grilling that Angie gave me, making sure you were good enough for me.” 

Peggy let out a small laugh. 

“I think that’s how we know they care.” 

“Yeah I think so too.” 

They sat in silence for a moment, still holding hands across the table, only being interrupted by the waiter coming to take their order. 

“So, what is it exactly that you do for a living? You mentioned that you were in the Army, but you got extremely vague after that.” Steve asked after their waiter departed. 

“Well, that is a complicated question.” Peggy said, taking a sip of water. 

“Yes, I was in the Army, I remained there in a desk position when I was pregnant with Sarah and for a short while afterwards. Then, then it gets complicated.” Peggy sighed. 

“Complicated how?” 

“Complicated, that I’m not sure how much I can actually tell you.” 

Steve looked very confused, but Peggy still hesitated before continuing. Not many people knew what it was that she actually did. She had always been very private about what exactly she did for a living, partly because it was so very confidential by nature, but also it felt like a very personal part of herself. Peggy had become too used to closing people off and being private about her job was one of the ways she did that. With Steve however, she wanted to let him in, to allow him into that space that she had kept locked away for so long. So, with a shaking breath, she began to explain. 

“Did you ever hear about the SSR during your time in the army?” She asked, her voice deliberately low. 

“Yes. They’re some specialist offshoot of the army that runs and keeps an eye on people like Howard Stark.” Steve replied still looking confused. 

“Before I got pregnant with Sarah, I worked as a, for a lack of a better word, an agent for them for nearly two years. They chained me to a desk whilst I was pregnant, which I was partly grateful for because I was such a mess after everything that had happened that I would have been a liability in the field. After Sarah was born, I didn’t want to go back out into the field, so I stayed at my desk job for a while. I still had potential apparently, and so they promoted me to a management position. A few years of fighting my corner and some hard work I now run their Brooklyn division.” Peggy finished; her voice still very deliberately quiet. 

Steve looked at her in complete awe. 

“You are even more incredible than I thought you were.” 

Peggy went scarlet. 

“Nonsense.” She said, waving him off. 

“Seriously Peggy, that is an intense gig. I knew a couple of guys who went into that line of work, and they all said the same, that it was tough, not for the light-hearted, and you run the show? All whilst taking care of Sarah all on your own. You are amazing.” Steve spoke with such awe and admiration on his face. 

“Thank you, but I just do what I do to get by. I love my job, and I love it even more now that I can delegate to people below me and spend much more time with Sarah. It’s the people below me who do all the tough grafting, I promise you.” Peggy said, taking a sip of her wine. 

“Do you miss being out in the field?” Steve asked, the look of awe still spread across his features. 

“Yes and no.” Peggy replied. 

“I miss the thrill of the chase, going after someone that we’d been tracking for ages, the satisfaction of a confession after so long, but then I don’t miss the danger that it put me in. I’m still not exactly in a safe job, but at least now I’m not staring down the barrel of a gun every week. I have Sarah to think about now, I couldn’t bare the thought of being hurt or killed on the job and her having to exist in the world without me.” She continued.   
Steve gave her a sad smile. 

“At least you know that’s not going to happen now. Sarah is so so lucky to have you.” 

“I think it’s the other way around actually. I’m very lucky to have her. I can’t imagine life without her.” Peggy admitted. 

They were disturbed yet again by their waiter, bringing them their food, and after that the conversation slid into less intense territory and the air of the evening became a lot more light-hearted and flirtier. 

“So, am I the first parent that you kissed during parents evening?” Peggy asked jokingly. 

“No, actually, that is an extremely regular occurrence believe it or not. Did you not see the baseball bat I keep behind my desk, it’s actually for swatting away the mom’s that try and make a move during parents evening.” Steve replied sarcastically. 

Peggy laughed at the image that this conjured in her head, Steve being swarmed by mothers puckering their lips whilst he swung the baseball bat, trying to keep them at a safe distance. 

“Oh, you wish Mr Rogers.” She smiled, giving him a heated look. 

By the time they had settled the bill, Steve had insisted on paying, Peggy fought him fiercely, but lost gracefully, Peggy’s earlier apprehensions about the evening had utterly disappeared. This was aided by the two glasses of wine she had had with dinner, which was all it took these days to make her feel not sober, and so she had no qualms in taking Steve’s hand in hers as they left the restaurant. She was however confused when Steve led her, not to the car, but down the street. 

“Where are we going?” She asked bemusedly as they walked. 

“I thought we could go get some dessert. Don’t worry, it isn’t far.” Steve assured her as they turned a corner. 

Five minutes later Peggy grinned as Steve led her into a late-night ice cream parlour. He got cookie dough, she got raspberry ripple, and before Steve could blink, Peggy had paid for them both, a small recompense for being fought over the dinner bill. They decided not to sit in, but instead to take a leisurely walk back the car. 

“Don’t tell Angie, but I think I have found the new best ice cream place in Brooklyn.” Peggy remarked slyly as she finished off her ice cream. 

Steve just looked at her, smiling that smile that made her flush from her toes to the very top of her head. 

“Hold on, you’ve got ice cream just here.”

He stood in front of her and wiped the corner of her mouth with his thumb gently. They stood like that for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes, breathing heavily, Steve’s hand caressing her cheek. 

“Well, are you going to kiss me or was that ice cream trick for no-“ 

Peggy was cut off by Steve’s lips meeting hers. As soon as Steve pulled back, Peggy brought him back down to her and kissed him with everything that she had. She could not tell you how long they stood there, kissing in the middle of the street like teenagers. When they finally broke apart, she leaned her forehead against his, and listened to his heavy breathing. 

“I really, really like you Peggy Carter.” Steve whispered against her skin. 

“I really, really like you too Steve Rogers.” Peggy replied softly. 

They finished their walk back to the car with Peggy’s arm looped into his, her head resting on his arm, as they walked leisurely back. Ever the gentleman, when they reached Peggy’s house, Steve walked her to the door, taking her in his arms and kissing her again. 

“God, I wish I could invite you in, but that would raise far too many eyebrows from my babysitter, and we’d have a job explaining it to my five-year-old why her teacher was suddenly eating breakfast with us.” Peggy gasped as Steve placed gentle kisses down her neck. 

This train of thought was broken swiftly when Steve captured her lips with his again. 

“We’ll get there eventually.” Steve said when they broke apart, a wicked grin on his face. 

“I suppose I should go inside.” Peggy said quietly, once she had caught her breath. 

“I had a really, really good evening Peggy.” Steve said, giving her that look again that made her flush from top to toe. 

“So did I. We are definitely doing it again.”

“Definitely.” Steve agreed with a smile. 

“Goodnight.” Peggy smiled. 

“Goodnight.” 

Steve leaned in and gave her a brief kiss goodnight, before Peggy was finally able to tear herself away from him and open her front door. The second the door closed Angie pounced on her, grinning like a crazy person and it was very clear that she had been waiting for her to come home. 

“So, how was it?! Where do you go? What did you do? I would ask if you kissed him again, but you just took ten minutes to say goodbye at the door so clearly that was a given. Did you get freaky in the back of his car?? Cause if you did Howard owes me ten bucks.” Angie spewed all of this out in one very excited breath. 

Peggy couldn’t help but laugh. 

“It was wonderful. We had dinner, we got ice cream, he definitely proved himself in the kissing department and I will absolutely be seeing him again.” Peggy said, not holding back the wide smile on her face. 

Angie squealed loudly, and Peggy had to shush her lest she wake up Sarah. Eventually she had to usher Angie out of the house, promising that she would fill her in on every detail the next day. Later, when Peggy finally collapsed onto her bed, she heard her phone chime. After reaching over to her bedside table and picking it up she saw that it was Steve. 

“I just wanted to say again that I had such a good time with you tonight. You are a wonderful woman and I’m so lucky to have you in my life.” The message read. 

Peggy clutched the phone to her chest and allowed that exhilarating feeling that she hadn’t felt since she’d been a teenager of the boy you liked texting you. 

“I had a wonderful time too. You aren’t so bad yourself.” She replied. 

Peggy fell asleep that night with a smile on her face, remembering the glorious feeling of Steve’s lips against hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading, and this time I make no promises when the next chapter will be up. It will be up when it is ready, but that hopefully won't be too long. Note the vague time scale so you guys don't get your hopes up. It is coming I promise. Just to make up for the amount of time it took for this chapter to get put up, I will give you the title of the next chapter which is: Sports Day. Have fun in the comments working out what shenanigans is gonna happen then. 
> 
> Skye :)


	6. Sports Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Peggy finally tell Sarah about them and Peggy volunteers to help out at Sports Day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so, again, sorry about this taking so long. Life is just far too busy to be getting on with and this chapter was exclusively written after ten o'clock at night cause that is the only time I have to write at the moment. Currently my plan is two more chapters, which will include an epilouge. I never expected in my wildest dreams that this fic was going to be so very long, but here we are over 15000 words later, and I fully expect this sucker to hit 20000 before we get all nice and wrapped up here. Also I just want to say thank you so much because this fic has now hit over 100 kudos! That is a first for one of my fics! I just do this for fun in my spare time and seeing that people like and enjoy the stupid shit I write makes it just so much better! So thank you very much, I had a wee grin (and maybe a cry) about that earlier this week. Now I will stop wittering shite, as I usually do in these beginning notes, and let you get on with the chapter! Enjoy!

How on earth are you supposed to tell your five-year-old that you are dating her teacher, Peggy thought as she lay in bed one night. The next day Steve was coming over and they were finally going to tell Sarah about them. It had been about three weeks since their first official date and they had gone out at least half a dozen more times, just the two of them, begging and scraping through Peggy’s list of babysitters, always going out after Sarah had gone to bed. But Sarah was not stupid. She had already asked Peggy on many occasions why she was going out so much, and who was she going to see. Up until now Peggy had managed to gloss over all of these questions, but as time wore on, Sarah’s questions were getting more specific and harder to avoid, so she had decided to just get it over with. If this was going to be something long term, which Peggy desperately hoped that it would be, then Sarah would have to find out eventually. At breakfast the next morning, Peggy took a shaking breath and took the first step to telling Sarah. 

“So, my darling, I was wondering if it would be okay if Mr Rogers came by today?” Peggy said, trying very hard to keep her voice from shaking

Sarah frowned. 

“Am I in trouble?” Sarah asked, a look of concern forming across her small face. 

Peggy’s heart broke at this response and she got up and gave Sarah a hug. 

“No, of course not my darling, why would you think that?” Peggy enquired, still trying to keep her voice steady. 

“Cause it’s a Saturday and teachers don’t usually come to your house, so it must be something I did.” Sarah looked up at Peggy, tears forming in her little eyes. 

This was not the positive beginning that Peggy had been hoping for. 

“Oh darling, it’s nothing you’ve done, I promise. Mr Rogers and I just want to talk to you about something important.” Peggy said comfortingly as she held Sarah to her. 

“So, it’s nothing I did?” Sarah asked, searching for confirmation. 

“Absolutely not, in fact it’s a good reason why he’s coming, I promise. Nothing to worry or get upset about. Mummy will always tell you the truth, okay?” 

“Okay.” Sarah replied, looking up at her with a small smile. 

“Mr Rogers will be here at 11 o’clock, but I can tell him not to come if you don’t want him to. This is your home too and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” Peggy explained. 

“It’s okay if he comes. I like Mr Rogers.” Sarah smiled. 

Peggy breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Okay then! We have a bit of time before he gets here, so do you want to help me clean up the breakfast things and then we can go play or watch cartoons? Whatever you want!” 

Sarah gave her a big toothy grin and nodded. They ended up curled on the couch watching Sarah’s favourite show until Steve arrived. The doorbell rang at exactly 11.  
Peggy smiled and got up off the couch to answer the door. He stood on the doorstep smiling nervously, his hands stuffed in his pockets. 

“Hi.” He smiled before leaning in to give Peggy a quick kiss. 

“Is it just me or is this more terrifying than our first date?” Steve asked as he stepped over the threshold. 

Peggy smiled in agreement.

“Oh yes, this is a lot worse.” She concurred. 

“Sarah is just in the living room. Are you ready for this?” Peggy asked. 

“Nope, but we have to do it. It’ll be fine.” He replied bracingly. 

Peggy wasn’t quite sure if he was comforting himself or her, or maybe both, but she heard him rubbing his hands together nervously as she led him into the living room where Sarah was still sat watching TV. 

“Sarah, Mr Rogers is here.” Peggy said as they entered the living room, not quite able to hide the shake in her voice this time. 

“Hi Mr Rogers.” Sarah said nervously to him.

“Is it okay if I turn the TV off for just a moment whilst we have a chat with you?” Peggy asked, trying so hard sound calm, so not as to freak Sarah out. 

Sarah nodded, and after she had done so, Peggy sat down on the big cushy footrest that sat in front of the couch and gestured Steve to sit next to her, which he did so, still nervously playing with his hands. Sarah sat in front of them, her wide eyes inspecting them as Peggy took a deep breath in and began to speak. 

“So, do you remember a little while ago when we had a talk about relationships, how you get all different sorts, like the relationship we have and the ones I have with Auntie Angie and Uncle Howard and how they are different from the relationships say, your friends parents have?” Peggy tried to speak slowly and clearly, and kept her focus on Sarah, though she was more than aware of Steve’s presence next to her. 

Sarah nodded but looked confused, her eyes continuing to flit back and forth between them. 

“Good! Well, since we met Mr Rogers here, I have grown to feel about him, not how I feel about say Uncle Howard…” Peggy trailed off, thinking of how to continue. 

“So not like just friends?” Sarah asked softly, her eyes slowly widening with understanding.

“Yes exactly, not just friends, but more than that. I like, Steve, Mr Rogers that is, very much. We were just wondering if you would be okay if he was my boyfriend.” Peggy felt herself speeding up as she got to the end of her sentence but tried to regulate it as much as she could. 

Sarah’s eyes went wide, like little globes. This had clearly not been what she had been expecting her to say at all. 

“Your boyfriend? Like romantically, with kissing and stuff?” Sarah asked curiously. 

Peggy heard Steve start to chuckle next to her and had to elbow him to get him stop, she was trying to keep this serious, so that Sarah knew the implications of everything she was telling her. 

“Yes, l like Steve romantically, and he feels the same way about me.” Peggy explained, a small smile on her face.

Sarah immediately looked to Steve, as if to confirm this. 

“I like your mom very much Sarah and I would like to spend a lot more time with her in future, with both of you in fact. That would mean that we saw each other a lot outside of school, and you could even call me Steve if you like, but only when we’re not in school of course.” Steve explained, leaning towards Sarah, a kind and gentle look on his face. 

“But only if that is okay with you of course!” Peggy quickly added. 

She considered them both for a moment before speaking, the information she had just received swirling through her little brain. 

“So, you and Mummy would be boyfriend and girlfriend?” Sarah asked, looking at Steve.

“Yes.” He replied. 

“And I would see you more outside of school?” She continued.

“Yes.” 

“Okay then. I like you Mr Rogers, it would be good to see you more, plus Mummy is always super happy when we talk about you, so I know she likes you a lot.” Sarah said honestly, in the way only a five-year-old can. 

Both Peggy and Steve let out a big sigh of relief, and Steve reached over and took Peggy’s hand into his. 

“Good, cause your Mom and I like each other so much and we would have been very sad if you’d said no.” Steve grinned at Sarah. 

“You make Mummy happy.” Sarah said simply, this being explanation enough for her response. 

Steve squeezed Peggy’s hand and they both smiled very wide smiles at Sarah. 

“Besides, I always wanted to know what it would be like to have a Daddy.”

Both Steve and Peggy choked. 

After they recovered themselves and explained to Sarah that no, Steve was not quite like a dad to her, although Peggy tucked the thought away far, far into the back of her mind that it was only a matter of time, the three of them went out to lunch. The situation was not helped when the waitress called them “such a cute little family!”. Peggy began to protest, but she then saw how wide the smile on Sarah’s face was and decided to let it go, just this once. Steve and Peggy held hands as they walked with Sarah to the park after lunch, and that sneaky traitorous voice in the back of Peggy’s head reminded her of just how domestic, how wonderfully familial this all was, before the rational side of her brain shut that train of thought down very quickly and shoved it in a dark back corner of her mind before it had time to grow arms and legs. At some point during the course of the day, Steve had convinced her to volunteer to help out at the school’s sports day, which was coming up, but he could probably talk her into just about anything at this point. Her heart swelled as she watched Steve play with Sarah in the park. He was such a natural with her, and Sarah clearly loved him, laughing happily as he chased after her. Peggy’s heart melted even further when Sarah fell asleep on Steve’s shoulders on the way back to the car. All in all, it had been a very successful first day out as a couple with Sarah, Peggy mused after Steve had kissed her goodbye. Steve had just fit in so easily with herself and Sarah’s dynamic, without feeling as if there was an intrusion of some kind. It all just felt so natural and right, like he had always meant to be with them. 

A few weeks later, the sun rose on sports day, a warm day, spring was finally beginning to transition into summer, and it was a truly beautiful day. Peggy had taken a rare afternoon off to come down and help and was rewarded with the sight of Steve in a tight exercise shirt, his class gathered in a gaggle at his feet. He shot her a smile across the playground when he noticed her enter the school grounds. They were still trying to keep their relationship low-key around the school. Steve had assured Peggy on many occasions that he could not be fired for their relationship, but he didn’t think that the school would want it advertised that one of their teachers was dating one of the parents. He had yet to tell the principal, Ms Hill, about it yet, and Peggy didn’t blame him. Ms Hill was a serious looking woman, who softened up slightly around the kids, but Peggy doubted that any scolding from her would be at all a laughing matter. Steve had told her that he would tell her when the school year was over and Sarah was no longer in his class, figuring the fallout would be less if the parent in question wasn’t one of his students’ parents. Ms Hill was lingering about the playground, smiling and chatting to parents and children alike. Peggy hadn’t personally had a lot of interaction with her, and she had no doubts that she was an excellent principal, but she still wouldn’t like to be on her bad side. Peggy was quickly put to work tallying scores with a couple of other mums. They took it in turns, so that when their kid was participating in an event they could go and watch and cheer them on. Sarah won second place in the kindergarten running race and Peggy was so proud she thought she would burst. At some point in the afternoon someone over a loudspeaker announced that there would be a 100-meter race for all of the dads to take part in. Well, Peggy thought, she would be having none of that. Several people raised their eyebrows when Peggy went up to the starting line, but nobody stopped her. Peggy won easily, leaving all of the other dad’s in the dust behind her, earning some stunned congratulations as the last competitor crossed the finish line, and she saw Steve and Sarah in the distance cheering loudest of all for her. Later on, Peggy stayed behind to help clear up, partly because it meant she could spend more time with Steve. This ended up backfiring slightly as she ended up wandering around the corridors looking for the gym, holding a large collection of colourful cones which she had been tasked with putting back in the gym closet. If only she could find it, she thought bitterly. This was ridiculous, she was a spy who was fully trained in all areas of espionage and she couldn’t find the gym in an elementary school. She turned a corner for what felt like the millionth time that day and bumped directly into a familiar shape. 

“Lost?” Steve grinned at her. 

“Quite.” She replied, her mood lifting the second she realised it was him and not the incompetent gym teacher who couldn’t give directions if his life depended on it.

“Here, the gym is this way.” He said, walking around her and leading her back down the corridor. 

“I’m going to do unspeakable things to that gym teacher.” Peggy retorted through gritted teeth.

Steve looked back at her with a wry grin on his face. 

“I thought that those privileges were reserved for me.” He remarked, smiling. 

Peggy went red and hit him on the arm. 

“Steve! We’re at school!” Peggy hissed at him, not concealing the smile on her face very well at all. 

“There’s no one around, it’s fine. Come on, the gym is just here.” He replied as he pushed the door that finally led Peggy into the gym. 

They walked into the deep sports closet, shoved the cones onto a shelf, and as Peggy turned to leave she felt Steve’s hand on her wrist, pulling her back, and capturing her lips with his. 

“Steve, school.” Peggy murmured breathlessly as she pulled away. 

“You beating all of those guys in that race today was easily one of the sexiest things I have ever seen in my life.” Steve murmured as he kissed his way down her neck, ignoring her comment.

“You clearly haven’t seen yourself in that shirt then.” She whispered against his lips, before kissing him fiercely again. 

They were interrupted a few moments later by a sharp cough from the door of the closet. They both sprung apart and looked to see Ms Hill standing at the door, looking less than pleased at them. 

“Ms Carter, I believe Sarah is waiting in her classroom for you with her things. I suggest you go and collect your daughter. Mr Rogers, a word in my office please. Now.” Ms Hill said, her voice a steely tone which made Peggy feel as if she was a child again, being scolded for doing something very seriously wrong. 

They silently made their way out of the gym closet, ashen faced and not looking at each other. They parted ways as they left the gym, Steve going one way with Ms Hill and Peggy going the other. She managed to keep herself together until she had gotten Sarah home, had gotten her a snack, and was quite certain that she was playing happily in her room, before she slid silently into her room and let the tears fall down her face. How could they have let this happen? What had happened to poor Steve with Ms Hill? She loved him so much she couldn’t bare that she could have jeopardised his job like this. This realisation shocked her slightly, but not as much as it should have. She loved him. It had only been a few months, but she loved every single thing about him. Her reverie was interrupted by a knock at her door. She cleaned herself up as much as she could before making her way downstairs and to the front door. She knew it would be him. Steve wrapped her in a hug the second the door was wide enough to open. 

“I’m so sorry Peggy, this was all my fault.” He murmured into her hair. 

“Takes two to tango Steve. We both messed up here.” She replied, looking up at him. 

“What did Hill say to you?” Peggy asked after a few moments. 

“That I needed to seriously think about what I was doing and how it would affect my position within the school. That she couldn’t control what I got up to outside of school, but that I should know better than to have done what we did back in that gym closet. And… and…” He trailed off quietly, sounding thoroughly ashamed of himself. 

“What, what did she say?” 

“That it wasn’t her place to say, but that she was of the opinion that I should break it off, before something like this, or worse, happens again.” He said quietly not looking at her. 

“Well that’s ridiculous!” Peggy exclaimed. 

Much to Peggy’s horror, Steve hesitated. 

“Steve?!” She said, pushing back from him, a million different emotions flooding her body in a second flat.

“I think maybe we should take a break Peggy. Something like this cannot happen again., it just can’t.” He said, still not making eye contact with her. 

“No, no that isn’t an option.” Peggy said firmly, her eyes filling up with tears again, feeling her blood beginning to boil. 

“I just, I can’t seem to control myself around you Peg. I think I just need some time to think about us, and how we cou- “ 

“Get out.” Peggy interrupted; her voice icy cold. 

“What?!” Steve finally looked up at her. 

“Get out! Get out of my house! I don’t even want to look at you right now!” Peggy yelled, tears beginning to drip down her face. 

Steve looked thoroughly taken aback. 

“No, Peggy listen please- “He started. 

“No. You want a break?! You got it! GET OUT!” She shouted, shoving him out of the door, slamming it in his face. 

Tears fell thick and fast down her face, and she barely registered Steve slamming on the door behind her. She wandered blindly in the direction of the living room, before stopping at the stairs. Sarah was sat blinking at her on the landing. 

“Are you okay Mummy? I heard shouting.” Sarah said softly. 

“Oh Sarah, my darling, come here. Mummy needs one of your magical hugs about now.” Peggy said thickly, unable to stop the tears coming down the stairs. 

Sarah made her way down the stairs and Peggy scooped her up, placing her on her hip, her little head tucked into her shoulder. Holding Sarah had always, since the second she was born, brought her comfort and solace. The world had always felt at peace when she had Sarah in her arms. But now, now it felt like a bandage over a much bigger wound, failing to keep it together. She still revelled in that sense of comfort that Sarah had always brought with her, but her feelings about Steve and what had just happened were consuming her. Here though, here lay her reminder that she couldn’t just fall to pieces, she couldn’t do that again. She had Sarah, Sarah who needed her. But she couldn’t think about that right now. Her heart ached for Steve, and she just couldn’t bare it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry.  
> THERE HAD TO BE SOME ANGST I'M SORRY. It will get better I promise though. They're just going through a rough patch, this happens in all relationships (so I'm told). It will get better I promise. Also I did not manage to fit it in anywhere but my plan was to have Fury be the schools superintendent so he would still be Hill's boss and run the show. I wanted to include that reference somewhere, and I couldn't really see Fury being an elementary school principal, so this is what made sense to me.  
> Skye :)


	7. The Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy does something reckless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, hello, every one of these chapters seems to begin with an apology about how long it has been since I last posted. Well this week I am especially sorry because of how I left that last chapter. But never the new chapter is here! Enjoy!

“Peggy, this is such a stupid idea.” Angie reiterated for what felt like the thousandth time that day. 

“I’m doing my job Angie, there is nothing stupid about that.” Peggy replied, her voice cool, not looking at Angie as she threw things into a suitcase.

“You are running away from your problem, literally!” Angie cried. 

Peggy threw what clothes she was holding down on her suitcase and turned on her heel to look at Angie. 

“This has nothing to do with Steve. We’ve been trying to apprehend this individual for months, finally we have an operation in place to catch her, my operatives need me there to coordinate.” Peggy said fiercely. 

“Bullshit Peg. I know you’ve been going after this guy for like a year, but you don’t personally need to be there. This just came at the right time for you to run away, after all that shit went down with Steve. What if the op goes sideways? What if you get hurt or killed? What about Sarah?!” Angie exclaimed. 

“I will not be in the op directly I will be guiding from a distance.” Peggy said as she turned back around and zipped her case up. 

“I won’t be in any danger. I will be home in three days all in one piece I assure you.” 

Angie sighed. 

“And what if he asks after you when I pick Sarah up from school?” 

“Tell him I’m away for work. He doesn’t need to know any more than that.” Peggy said coldly, sweeping past Angie and out of her bedroom. 

She went down the staircase, not looking back at Angie who was trailing behind her, a look of utter concern on her face, and made her way into the living room to say her goodbyes to Sarah.   
“Right my darling, I will be back in three days. You behave yourself and do everything your Auntie Angie tells you to.” She said as she leaned down to give Sarah a hug and a kiss. 

“Yes Mummy.” Sarah said quietly. 

Sarah and Angie stood at waved at the window as she left, and Peggy’s heart ached slightly. She would miss them terribly, but also, she just needed to get away for a few days. Maybe Angie was right, she wasn’t really needed on this op, but she just had to get away from it all. 

As Angie predicted, Steve asked after Peggy the next day during pick up. He looked miserable and stared at his feet the entire time. Angie told him what Peggy had told her to say and his face fell. Steve watched with disappointment over the next three days as Angie appeared at the end of the day. He had tried and tried to phone Peggy, to text her, to just talk to her since the argument, but she was clearly not interested in talking to him. Steve couldn’t blame her. He knew how flighty she was about people leaving or giving up in relationships. He wished he could go back and kick himself in the shins before he said anything stupid. But it was too late for that now, and he had lost Peggy because of it. On the fifth day of Peggy’s absence he had given up hope that she would ever come back, however all thoughts of this were expelled from his head when he saw the look of concern on Angie’s face as she came into the classroom. 

“Uncle Howard is waiting outside, go grab your stuff and I’ll be right out, I promise sweetheart.” He heard Angie say to Sarah, before she looked up at him. 

“Can we have a word?” Angie asked quietly. 

Steve did not like the look on her face one bit. 

“Yeah, yeah of course.” Steve replied softly, before leading her over to the far corner of the classroom. 

“As you know, Peggy went away for work about six days ago.” Angie said quietly. 

Steve nodded. 

“She doesn’t want me to tell you this, but it felt wrong keeping it from you.” 

“What happened?!” Steve replied swiftly. 

“She was only supposed to be away for three days. But the op went sideways, and she ended up in the field. She wasn’t supposed to be in the field at all she was just supposed to be coordinating from a distance, but as I said everything went sideways and she went in. I don’t know exactly what happened, she won’t tell me, but she got hurt. Shot actually. Sarah doesn’t know yet, Peggy doesn’t want her frightened, but she’s gonna have to find out eventually.” Angie said all of this very fast.

Steve’s eyes went as wide as boulders. 

“Where is she, I want to see her.” He replied, not letting Angie take breath after finishing. 

“I thought you’d say that. How quickly can you leave here? I have Howard out front in the car. We can explain to Sarah on the way. It would probably be best to let Sarah see her first, Peggy might shoot at the both of us if she sees your first and Sarah definitely doesn’t need to see that.”

“I can get away as soon as the last of the kids leave.” Steve replied, quickly moving behind his desk, and gathering up his things.

“Good. I’ll see you outside in about five minutes. I really shouldn’t leave Howard alone with Sarah too long, he might corrupt her.” Angie said with a small smile, before rushing towards the door. 

It felt like an age before the last parent and child left Steve’s classroom, but he was hot on their heels. He saw Angie wave at him in the parking lot and got the second biggest shock of the day. Howard Stark was sitting in the driver’s seat of Peggy’s car. He had heard Peggy mention Howard on more than a couple of occasions, but he never connected that this was that Howard. The famous Howard Stark. Steve gave himself a shake as Howard rolled down his window, a small smile on his face. 

“Hiya pal. Nice to finally meet you, I’ve heard far too much about you. I do wish that we were meeting under better circumstances.” Howard said, raising his hand for him to shake.   
Steve shook his hand still stunned.

“So, Peggy never told you that I was that Howard huh? That just about figures.” Howard said, understanding the look on Steve’s face. 

“Very nice to finally meet you anyway sir.” Steve said. 

“This is nice and everything,” Angie yelled from the passenger seat.

“But we really should get going if we want to make it there today.”

Steve squeezed himself into the back of the car, next to Sarah and they set off. It was not a comfortable journey, Angie twisted round to look at Sarah, explaining that Mummy had been hurt and was now in the hospital. Steve comforted her as much as he could, but it was no good. Steve knew Sarah well enough to know that when she was like this, only Peggy would do. True to his word, Steve stayed in the waiting room whilst Angie and Howard took Sarah through to see Peggy. This gave Steve plenty of time to think. He nearly got up and left on several occasions, knowing she would not be happy to see him, but he stayed. He could not tell you why, but he just knew that he needed to see her, to make sure she was okay. Then she could go on hating him and refuse to see him ever again. He just needed to be sure. Howard came through a short while later, holding a tearful Sarah’s hand. 

“Hey, your Mom is gonna be just fine Sarah, she’s one tough cookie. She’ll be up and about in no time.” Steve said softly to Sarah as she crawled up onto the seat next to him and cuddled into his arm. 

Sarah didn’t say anything but gave him a small watery smile. 

“You can go and see her now.” Howard murmured to him as he sat down.

“Angie will act as the referee, so hopefully you won’t come out of it with a shiner.”

Steve got up and started to walk away, before something occurred to him. 

“She doesn’t know I’m coming does she?” He asked Howard.

“Do I look like I have recently been subject to her rather excellent right hook? No, she doesn’t. It will be fine.” Howard replied. 

Steve walked slowly down the hospital corridor, steeling himself for what was about to happen. Nothing could possibly be worse than the last time he saw her, of that he was certain. He was not however prepared for the sight that met him when he finally turned into Peggy’s room. She was sat up, propped up by what looked like every pillow the hospital could spare, the biggest bandage Steve had ever seen stretching around her left shoulder. She was as white as a sheet, and there were multiple drips going into her arm, one of which, Steve noticed with a shudder, contained blood. Peggy’s eyes widened when she saw him, and any colour that remained in her cheeks drained. 

“What are you doing here?” she asked, pushing herself up further on her pillows. 

“I asked him here, so before you get mad at him, direct that anger towards me, cause I’m the reason that he’s even here English.” Angie said firmly. 

Peggy gave her a look that could kill before turning back to Steve. 

“Why are you here?” She asked firmly. 

“Oh, you know, I was here anyway, thought I would drop in.” Steve gave a small smile as he spoke, inching slowly further into the room as he did so. 

Peggy did not look impressed. 

“Now is no time for jokes Steve.” She said sharply. 

Steve sighed and steeling himself, walked up to the side of her bed, taking a seat in the chair that sat next to it.

“Angie told me you were hurt. She didn’t think you should keep it from me. I was worried. I wanted to see you.” He said softly, his eyes never wavering from her face.

“Well you’ve seen me. Now you can go.” She responded coldly, turning her head sharply away from him. 

“Peggy, I don’t think that’s fair.” Angie said. 

“You’re on thin ground already.” Peggy said sharply, whipping her head around to look at Angie. 

“You already disobeyed me about not telling Sarah about this and now you tell him.” 

“Sarah was going to find out eventually and Steve’s face over the last week I’ve been picking Sarah up was like someone had shot his puppy in front of him. He’s clearly been unhappy about whatever happened between you.” Angie retorted. 

“Thanks Angie.” Steve replied quietly. 

Angie smiled at him. 

“Could you possibly give us a minute?” Steve asked after a moment. 

“Sure, but I will be right outside. She is not to move from that bed, and that’s not my orders it’s the doctors, so behave yourself English.” Angie looked pointedly at Peggy before leaving.

“I have nothing to say to you.” Peggy said shortly.

“Well, that gives me plenty of time to say what I need to. Firstly, I’m so sorry Peggy. That day, Hill just really freaked me out, I saw red, and I just felt like I needed to run. I know that it is no excuse, but I wasn’t thinking, I was too wrapped up in myself, what the consequences meant for me, losing my job, and that was so incredibly wrong. If I want to be with you, I need to think about you, both of you, in everything I do. If you’ll have me, I will consider us a team from now on. I wasn’t doing that before, but I am now. I am so incredibly sorry Peggy, I knew your history, I should have thought about what I was doing. I know I didn’t say it before but, I’m in love with you Peggy. You are the most incredible person I have ever met. I think I loved you before we even started seeing each other, I heard so much about you from Sarah, that I fell in love kinda through her. And in loving you, I love her too, so much. These last couple of weeks have been awful, and when Angie told me today that you were hurt, all I could think about was how much I loved you, and how much I wanted you to be okay.”   
Tears rolled down his cheek as he finished. Peggy looked at him with wide eyes, taking in a deep shuddering breath. 

“Well is that all?” Peggy asked after a few moments.

“Peggy…” Steve said thickly. 

“I’m rather tired, I wonder if you could go, and let me rest for a moment.” She quipped, not looking at him. 

“Of course.” Steve replied, tears still rolling down his face. 

His head ached as he got up and left. The look of absolute pity on Angie’s face when she saw him did not help. 

“I’m sorry Steve, but Peggy is stubborn, even when she has been hit in the shoulder with two bullets. Can we give you a ride home?” Angie asked

“No.” Steve shook his head.

“I’d rather be by myself for a while. I need to clear my head.”

He walked away without letting Angie respond. He said a brief goodbye to Howard and Sarah, before walking aimlessly out of the hospital, down towards the nearest subway station. He seemed to continue in this daze for days, not allowing himself to truly feel anything until the end of the school year when it seemed everything would be over for certain. He’d given up all hope of seeing her again this year, doubting she would be well enough to come to pick up and drop-off any time soon. Steve threw himself into preparations for the end of year presentation. As he had promised Peggy all that time ago during parents evening, Sarah had a special role to play and she loved it. She was acting as the narrator for the kindergarten presentation and was thriving in it. Their big class project that year had been looking at famous historical figures, and it was Sarah’s job to introduce them, and the kids who were dressed up as them gave a couple of facts. Steve had worked so hard on trying to coordinate this little show, and get costumes together, getting the kids to pick out what figures they wanted to feature since they couldn’t do all of them. He had been pretty pleased with the kid’s choices of George Washington, Amelia Earhart, Albert Einstein, Jane Goodall and William Shakespeare. Within this project, Steve had wanted to break down the barriers of these people, make them seem less intimidating and daunting, whilst celebrating the work they did, what the contributed to the world and to let the kids see that any of their fields were interesting and enjoyable. It pleased him to no end to see how excited they all were about all of the figures they had studied that year. Steve had such a soft spot for history, and it thrilled him to see his students enjoying it too. 

The end of year presentation took place in the gym hall on the very last day of school, with the parents all being invited, sat on the bleachers, eagerly watching their kids. The kindergarteners were first, and there was a massive chorus of “awwws” as the kids entered in their costumes. Steve stood at the side with a little script that he had made up, ready for prompting should any of the kids need it. He had still felt extremely dazed when he woke up that morning but shoved all of that emotion to the back of his mind. Today was about his kids and being proud of them and what they had achieved this year, not about him. He was so focused on his kids in fact that he did not noticed when Peggy slipped in just after his class had begun their presentation, and sat on the very front row of the bleachers behind where Steve was crouching, clutching his script and silently helping and encouraging his kids like an enthusiastic stage mom, the sight of which both made Peggy laugh and her heart swell. The look of utter and absolute pride on his face once the kids had finished made her heart swell even further. This look was quickly wiped off of his face when he finally turned around and saw her as he was beginning to shepherd his class out of the hall. Peggy couldn’t lie, she was fairly disappointed when Steve quickly busied himself with his class again, getting out of the hall and away from her as quickly as he could. She wasn’t too disappointed though; she had a plan.   
At the very end of the day, Steve was alone, packing up his personal belongings for the summer and also recovering from seeing Peggy for the first time since the hospital. It had been jarring enough to see her like that, wounded and pale, but it was quite another that she had been so cold with him. 

“Steve?” 

A voice from the doorway disturbed his reverie and he whipped around to see who it was. There was no mistaking that shade of red lipstick. 

“Peggy…” Steve breathed. 

“That was a wonderful performance you put on today. Sarah was so excited to be a part of it; it is all she’s talked about for weeks.” Peggy said, tentatively making her way towards him. 

“Thank you. The kids put in a lot of effort. It’s good to see that all of their work was enjoyed and appreciated.” He responded stiffly, turning back to his box of things. 

“Steve.” 

Peggy had reached out, and caught his elbow, gently coaxing him to turn and face her. Steve gave in and turned to her. 

“I’m so sorry. For everything.” Peggy said thickly. 

Steve let out a long shuddering breath. 

“There’s nothing to forgive.”

“Yes, there is. I was horrible to you when you came to the hospital. I was upset at you, and hurt and in a lot of pain, and tired, but none of that is an excuse. You came and you were so lovely, I wish you knew how much your words meant to me then. But I was being stupid.”

Peggy paused before continuing. 

“I guess what I came here to say, is that I love you too, if you will still have me.” Peggy said quietly, tears falling down her face.

Steve let out a laugh of relief and disbelief. He searched her face, which looked anxious, her eyes, wide and watery before leaning in and capturing her lips in his, just as he had done that very first time, all those months ago. 

“I love you so much, I feel as though my chest could explode with it, Peggy. When Angie told me what happened to you, I thought it might.” Steve said softly when they broke apart.   
Peggy smiled. 

“Oh, my darling. I’ve been so miserable without you. Angie told me I was being stupid, but I was being stubborn. But then I realised that she was right, and that I shouldn’t let that get in the way of being happy. You are the most wonderful person I have ever met. Letting you go would have been the stupidest and most reckless thing I have ever done.” 

“I hope you know this is it for me. You’re stuck with me now. I will not let you go again.” Steve said softly, leaning his forehead against hers. 

“Absolutely. I am yours my darling.”

“And I am yours.”

They both leaned down and caught each other’s lips at the same time, wrapped up in each other for they could not tell you how long. Happiness like neither of them had felt in a long long time radiated off of them. They had each other’s hearts and they had no intention of giving them back and time soon, if ever at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is that. You'll be happy to hear that I have an epilogue planned, coming at some point in the near future. They were never gonna be broken up for long. It has been such a pleasure writing this fic and reading all of your lovely comments, I will be very sad to let it go! Thank you so much for reading and kudos-ing and commenting, it really does mean the world!  
> Skye :)


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peggy, Steve and Sarah enjoy a quiet Christmas morning together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it! The final little chapter. I will save all the mushy gushy stuff for the end notes, so for now please enjoy the final chapter!

Two Years Later

Peggy stretched lazily as she woke up, opening her eyes and smiling. Steve’s sleeping form lay inches from her own, his arm draped easily over her waist. They had shared the same bed for a while now, but Peggy still had to pinch herself every morning when she got to wake up next to him. This was the second Christmas that Steve had spent with them, but the first when he had been living with her and Sarah and most importantly the first where she could call him her husband. They’d gotten married in the Spring, nothing very big, as they didn’t have much family between them, but it had been a beautiful day. Sarah had been the most adorable little flower girl, like a little porcelain doll, in her little blue dress, flowers weaved in her hair like a little halo. Peggy had not wanted an extravagant affair, and that stretched to her dress too. It was tea length, she didn’t want to bother about trailing a massive skirt around all day, with a lace boat neck, and subtle lace embellishments that trailed down the dress. She’d worn bright red heels, much to her mother’s horror, but they were the first thing Steve complimented when she’d made it to the alter. He looked dumb in love for the entirety of the day, amazed that this was his life now, that he legally was hers for the rest of his days. He wore that same look as he stirred next to Peggy that Christmas morning. 

“Merry Christmas wife.” He said sleepily, a smile on his face before he had barely even opened his eyes.

“Merry Christmas my darling.” She smiled back, leaning in kiss him. 

Their lips had barely brushed before the bedroom door burst open and a now eight-year-old Sarah burst into the room. 

“Mummy, Daddy! It’s Christmas, can we please go and see if Santa has been!” She cried, throwing herself on the bed. 

Sarah had started calling Steve, Daddy, not long after he had proposed, but it still warmed both of their hearts to hear her call him that. He’d proposed only about seven months after they had gotten back together. He was certain though, and so was she, that this was it, that they were the loves of each other’s lives. He hadn’t asked her father first, he knew she would hate it if he was quite so traditional, besides it wasn’t as if they lived in an age where she was her father’s property until she married. Steve did however ask Sarah. Peggy had been working late one evening and he was looking after Sarah. Just as he was putting Sarah to bed, he asked her. 

“Sarah, what would you think if I asked your Mommy to marry me? Would that be okay?”

Her little face had lit up like a Christmas tree on fire. 

“Yes! Yes, I would love it if you married Mummy! Would this mean that you would be my Daddy? Properly and everything?” She had asked excitedly. 

Steve had smiled widely. 

“Yeah, yeah I guess so.” 

Sarah smiled even wider and flung her arms around him. 

“Does this mean I can call you Daddy now?” She asked once she had released him from her vice like grip. 

Steve’s heart swelled. 

“Of course sweetheart. But first we need to see if Mommy says yes.” He’d replied. 

“She will.” Sarah said confidently.

It hadn’t been anything extravagant, Steve knew that Peggy wouldn’t like that, but he chose his moment well. Sarah was at a sleepover at her friend’s house and they had the place to themselves for the evening. Steve cooked a nice dinner, lit some candles, put some roses on the table, and was checking his pocket every five minutes to make sure that the ring was still there. Peggy was exhausted when she came in from work, and positively melted when she saw Steve’s setup. They ate dinner quite happily, just talking about their days, though Steve wondered how on earth he managed to keep his voice calm, he was so nervous, and he felt the fact that he ate anything was a miracle. After dinner they went into the living room, and Steve turned on the radio and asked Peggy to dance. He held her close for a minute, as they danced aimlessly around the room, Peggy’s head on his chest, before he took a deep and shaky breath in. 

“Peggy?” 

“Yes darling?” She said softly, crooking her head up to look at him. 

“I wonder if I might ask you something?” 

She looked at him curiously, as he let the hand that had been on her waist go, and dipped it into his trouser pocket, still holding her with his other arm. 

“Peggy, you are the love of my life. I love you so much. You are the best person I have ever met. I could stand here and list all of the things I love about you but if I did that, I think we’d be here for days. You are so kind and loving, and you don’t put up with any of my shit which I very much need sometimes. You are a wonderful mother, Sarah being such a wonderful child is really testament to you and how much you love her and care for her and want the best for her. I love her too, so very much. I was wondering if you would do me the absolute honour of spending the rest of your life with me. Will you marry me?” 

He stepped back, kneeled down and opened up the ring box. Peggy looked at him, tears rolling down her face. Almost the second he had kneeled down; she was hauling him back up again kissing him furiously. 

“Yes! Yes, of course I will marry you my darling!” She replied through her tears after she had released him. 

Steve picked her up and spun her round, feeling happier than he had ever felt in his life. 

Back in the present, Sarah was now tugging so insistently on her mother’s hand, it felt like it was about to come out of the socket.

“I suppose we should go down. Although, I don’t know if he’s been, I didn’t hear anything last night.” Peggy said, smiling as she pushed herself up and out of bed to join the bouncing Sarah. 

“No, neither did I.” Steve concurred as he got up. 

Sarah stopped bouncing and frowned at them. 

“Mummy, Daddy, you do this every year. It is not nice to tease. Now come on!” Sarah said solemnly, still holding Peggy’s hand and pulling furiously at it to hurry her along. 

Peggy and Steve exchanged a look of amusement before allowing themselves to be dragged downstairs by Sarah. Right enough, there were a pile of presents under the tree, all with Sarah’s name on them. She turned around and gave them a look as if to say, “I told you so.” before bolting towards the pile, Steve hot on her heels. Peggy watched from the couch as Sarah opened presents and marvelled alongside Steve at each one she opened. Peggy smiled to herself, remembering that long ago she had imagined this very scenario, before she knew that it would become a reality. She was so unbelievably glad that it had. She had never felt happier than she did now, watching her husband and her daughter throw pieces of wrapping paper at each other. Later, when Sarah was sat happily on the floor, munching on some toast and playing with her new toys, Howard had bought her a mini drone, Peggy wasn’t entirely sure how sensible that was considering he has made certain significant “improvements” to it but Howard was Howard, Steve sat down next to her on the couch, handing her a cup of tea.

“I’m glad she’s so happy.” He said quietly so only Peggy could hear.

“Me too, though I’m not sure what an eight-year-old needs with a drone with the ability to scan the room it is in and report back the properties, but maybe I’m old fashioned.” She responded with a smile. 

Steve let out a small chuckle. 

“Whilst I remember,” Peggy said, leaning over and placing her tea on the coffee table.

She reached into her dressing gown pocket and pulled out a small parcel and handed it to Steve. 

“I wanted to give you this whilst Sarah was distracted.” 

Steve’s eyebrows raised suggestively, and Peggy swatted at his arm.

“Nothing like that, you naughty man. Just open it.” She said with a smile. 

Steve still grinned widely as he opened the small parcel, but his expression soon shifted to that of disbelief when he saw what was inside. 

“Really?” He asked in disbelief, his eyes glazing over with tears. 

“Really.” Peggy confirmed, her eyes misting over too. 

Steve quickly pulled her into a hug, tears rolling down his cheeks freely, pulling back only to kiss her soundly, with as much love as he could muster. 

“I didn’t tell you, but Sarah had written little brother or sister at the top of her Christmas list this year.” Peggy said softly, reaching up to wipe the tears away from Steve’s face. 

“So, she’ll get her wish, just not quite at Christmas time.” Peggy continued. 

“I am so incredibly and beyond happy.” Steve said so only she could hear.

“I didn’t think we should tell Sarah yet, not until we’ve been to the doctor and made sure everything was okay.” Peggy whispered quickly. 

“I think that’s a good call.” Steve replied, still grinning as wide as the Cheshire Cat. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Peggy could see Sarah starting to get unsettled, and looking at them curiously. 

“What are you doing?” Sarah asked inquisitively, putting her toy down to look at them.

Steve hastily stuffed the box with the positive pregnancy test in it behind his back as Sarah made her way over to them.

“We were just saying how happy we were to be all together at Christmas.” Peggy said quickly.

Sarah smiled, and launched herself between them. 

“Me too. I love that we have Daddy now.” Sarah said, settling herself between them on the couch. 

“Me too darling.” Peggy smiled, and cuddled into her daughter.

The next Christmas, they were a happy family of four, little James Samuel having made his appearance four months earlier. Sarah doted on him and made a fuss of him all day, wanting to make sure that his first Christmas was as amazing as possible. Steve and Peggy couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear all day long. They were happy and so very much in love, their children were happy and loved and taken care of, how much sweeter could life get? Peggy was inwardly very glad that she had ignored her past self’s apprehensions about Steve. She would never ever regret kissing the teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I cannot believe it's finished. 1 prompt week, 21,000 words and a 38 page word document later, here we are. I'm so happy I continued this fic I cannot begin to tell you. It has made me so happy to see so many of you read and enjoy it. This was only ever really meant to be a oneshot so the fact that so many of you wanted more was so astonishing to me. I'm actually quite proud of myself, I have never finished any work that was this long before. I think back in the day, I wrote a piece that was nearly 10,000 words but it was not fanfic, so I'm quite happy with my wee self that I've managed this. All I can say is thank you so much for reading, for commenting, for leaving kudos, it really does mean the world to me. Oh also whilst I remember, I did have reference pictures for Peggy's wedding dress and her shoes. I will try and leave the links at the bottom here but if they don't end up working you will find them on my tumblr, which is the same name (infinitestarsintheskye). Thank you so so so so much for all the support.   
> Skye :)
> 
> Dress Reference: http://weddingcafeny.com/wp-content/uploads/imgp/lace-boat-neck-wedding-dress-5-7001.jpg  
> Shoe Reference:https://www.irregularchoice.com/womens/budding-romance-a.html


End file.
